


Getting to Know You

by MirandaShadowind



Category: Final Fantasy VI
Genre: Campfires, Companions, Developing Friendships, Gen, Locke's Scenario, Missing Scene, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 20:53:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11744982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirandaShadowind/pseuds/MirandaShadowind
Summary: A "Missing scene" one-shot that takes place shortly after Locke's Scenario concludes and explores the beginnings of his and Celes' relationship. The warning is only for insinuations.





	Getting to Know You

"Whew..." Locke panted as he leaned against the cave wall to catch his breath. "Looks like we're finally in the clear." 

"Yes, but what now? The Empire wants me executed for treason, so I have nowhere to go..." As much as Celes hated to say it, it was true, and one of the other reasons why she had been intially reluctant to let herself be rescued. "And you probably have your own plans, don't you?" 

That didn't come as a surprise to him as he nodded. "Yeah, I need to regroup with the other Returners in Narshe soon, but... I was kinda hoping you'd join us. We make a pretty good team, you and I, and we could use the help." That, and his protective instincts had kicked in. Celes was a tough girl, no doubt about that, but he couldn't leave her alone and friendless to end up like- ' _NO. Never again..._ ' 

She was taken aback somewhat at his suggestion. "Me? A _Returner_? No offense, but would they even accept me considering my track record? South Figaro was my first off-continent mission, but still..." 

Locke hid his relief well, grateful that he hadn't inadvertantly taken Rachel's murderer under his protection. That would have been the ultimate irony, though considering her young age compared to his own, the possibility hadn't crossed his mind. "Granted, but maybe they'd be willing to give you a chance. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend,' after all."

Celes took a few minutes to think it over. Was _that_ the real reason why he had freed her and insisted on taking her along? No, it couldn't be that simple or he would have said as much when she first asked. Something else was going on here, what was he hiding? 

But what did she have to lose? If the other Returners _did_ accept her into their ranks, it would be a chance to atone for her sins as an Imperial General. And if instead they too thought she deserved execution - such irony there - it would likely be more merciful than the one she would have received from Kefka. She surpressed a shudder at the mere thought of the latter. "Maybe, but what if they aren't?"

"Then they'll have _me_ to answer to. I won't let them hurt you, I promise." 

What was with this guy? He was like no one else she had ever met, and the jury was still out on whether or not that was entirely a good thing. 

She gave a derisive snort. "Thanks, but I'm sure I could handle them myself considering my combat training and experience." Locke wasn't so sure about that, especially since she didn't know they had Terra. "But hopefully it won't come to that. I'm in." 

"Glad to hear it. Welcome to the Returners, Celes." 

He grinned at her and clapped a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled back faintly, partially at the secret irony. Back in the Empire, very few men had laid a hand on her without getting a prompt ass-kicking for their trouble, particularly the ones trying to get into her pants. But this had been an innocent gesture of confirmed camaraderie, nothing more. 

"Thanks." ' _I think..._ ' 

"Now let's see..." 

They needed to plan their next move, so he headed for the cave entrance and looked outside toward the Figaro Desert, where no castle loomed in the distance. Apparently it was still underground, so that wasn't an option, but maybe that was for the best. For even if it _was_ above-ground, bringing the woman responsible for the siege of South Figaro to the castle was a bad idea without Edgar there to smooth things over. As it was, Celes tagging along with him was going to take some explaining once they got to Narshe. And speaking of Edgar, considering _Locke_ had been the one to rescue Terra and now Celes, the Returners' resident "ladies' man" would probably start complaining about how Locke had all the luck and wasn't "properly" appreciating it. 

All things considered, including the fact that it had been an exhausting day, an overnight stay in the cave was looking better and better. As much as he was worried about his friends and getting to Narshe before the Empire did, he wouldn't be of any use to the former collapsed on Arvis' doorstep, if they even made it that far. "It's getting late and I'm beat, let's make camp in here for the night so we can start fresh in the morning." 

Locke headed outside to the small copse of trees to gather some firewood, and an irritated Celes followed him. "But the army could be right behind us, we need to keep going!" She wasn't ready to admit that she was tired as well, being more concerned with putting as much distance between them and the Empire's forces as possible. 

He shook his head as he picked up another fallen branch. "They may not know you're missing just yet, and even if they do, they don't know which way we headed. Besides, if nothing else, they'd probably think that TunnelArmor thing took us out."

"You may be right, but-" A crack of thunder cut her off, and the duo suddenly became aware of the dark storm clouds looming overhead. 

"No time to argue, get back to the cave!" What he had appeared to be sufficient, but if he didn't hurry, the rain would render it useless. As it was, a few drops started to fall as he raced back to the entrance. She let out a wordless cry of frustration before following suit, barely making it inside before the sky fully opened up and it began to pour outside. "Looks like no one's going anywhere right now, us _or_ them." 

"Point..." 

They retreated back to the recovery spring area, which was big enough for a makeshift campsite. Locke set down his rucksack and the firewood, then started building the campfire while Celes watched. He was only mildly surprised that she didn't so much as offer to help. ' _Guess she thinks I've got it covered... or maybe she's used to having underlings do it **for** her..._ ' Once he got the fire going, he sat down a couple feet away from it, but she chose to sit across from him instead of next to him. "I don't bite, you know." 

"I'm perfectly fine over here, thank you." She found it a bit odd that he was being so casual with a former enemy he'd just met, especially given her old reputation of being the Empire's "Ice Queen" in terms of both power and personality. Funny how despite her newfound freedom, her past was making things socially awkward now that their lives weren't in immediate danger. 

Little did she realize that the feeling was more or less mutual, as Locke was finding this only slightly less awkward than when he'd been traveling with Terra to Figaro Castle. He'd done most of the talking back then since her amnesia made her an understandably poor conversationalist. But at least she hadn't been as distant as Celes was proving to be. 

His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since before he'd started looking for a way out of the city. "You hungry? I've still got some rations in my pack that I can share." She nodded, so he quickly rummaged through his rucksack, fished out two small packages, and slid one over to her side of the fire. "The taste leaves something to be desired, but they'll do." He'd been living off of the stuff for the past few days, so he was somewhat used to it by now. He opened his with a dagger and started chowing down. 

"Better than going hungry, I suppose. Thanks." She accepted it gratefully, opened it up, and started eating, mentally noting that while he was right about the taste, it was also oddly familiar... She would have inspected it for possible poison out of habit if not for the fact that it had been sealed... and bore an all-too-familiar insignia that caught her eye when she looked down again. "Wait a minute... these are _Imperial_ rations! Locke, where did you..." 

And then it finally dawned on her. Long before her incarceration, there had been a rash of setbacks to the Empire's plans to raid Returner Headquarters. Malfunctioning Magitek Armors, disappearing food and weapons, you name it. It hadn't been hard to figure out that it was deliberate sabotage, but no one had been able to arrest the one(s) responsible. And she had been too focused on getting the Hell out of South Figaro and then fighting the TunnelArmor to consciously realize that the cause of all her headaches and frustration was the same man who had subsequently saved her life. 

He gave her a curious look as he took another bite of his ill-gotten dinner. "Mmph?" 

"It was you! _You're_ the one who sabotaged our - I mean the Empire's -" this was going to take a little getting used to, "machinery and stole the supplies!" Celes pointed an accusatory finger in his direction. 

Locke momentarily choked on his food at "stole" before swallowing hard. ' _Took her long enough..._ ' He chuckled at her expression before giving her a mock half-bow. "Heh, guilty as charged! Besides, I had to delay you guys from attacking Headquarters long enough for the others to escape _somehow_." 

"You did all that _by yourself_?" Given the extent of the damage, she found that a bit hard to believe. Then again, he would have said something by now if at least one other Returner had been causing trouble alongside him but they had gotten separated. 

"Yep, it was all me. It's... sorta my thing, along with spying and playing secret liaison between Figaro and the Returners."

She was unfazed by the latter, as the Empire had been growing suspicious of such an alliance for some time now. Kefka's little "incident" at the castle had only confirmed things, thus the subsequent occupation of South Figaro. "But that kind of job doesn't pay the bills, does it?" He shook his head. "Then what _do_ you do for a living?"

He grinned at that. "I'm a treasure hunter by trade. Being a Returner has kept me pretty busy - especially lately - but I've done a lot of traveling on my own over the years. It's a big world out there, and I've seen most of it and found some good stuff along the way." 

"Hmm, interesting." Now that she thought about it, his roguish clothing fit such a profession, or that of a thief. "And I suppose you already know about me, if only by reputation."

Locke nodded. "Which isn't saying too much considering most of my information came second-hand. I didn't know you were the one who took South Figaro until I got there and started sneaking around. Before that, I'd only known that the city had fallen and a raid on Headquarters was imminent. Honestly, I was half-expecting to find Kefka standing in the middle of a city-wide inferno laughing like the maniac he is." He shuddered at the resulting mental image, as did she. "And that reminds me, why _did_ you turn traitor in the first place?" While he had overheard her conversation with her jailers prior to busting her out, he wanted to hear her side. 

Celes was surprised that he hadn't asked that question sooner, but didn't show it as she bowed her head. "It happened a few days ago, when I heard that Kefka had been sent to the Doma front and was planning to poison the entire kingdom if they didn't surrender. Kefka being Kefka, the fact that he was entertaining thoughts of such a heartless tactic wasn't all that surprising. But when I found out that Emperor Gestahl had actually _approved_ his plan and given him the means to do so..." 

She narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him. " **That** made me have second thoughts about being a part of the Empire, though I couldn't back out of the Figaro campaign without exposing myself. Instead, I tried to send a warning to Doma in secret, but wasn't careful enough and got caught in the act. That act of treason also made my men wonder if at least some of _your_ sabotage work was really _my_ doing instead because no one had been caught, so I was locked up in that basement cell to await my execution. You know the rest." 

By that time he was gaping at her revelations, not least of all at the fact that some of the blame for his shenanigans had shifted from him to her. "I... don't know what to say except 'That's horrible' and 'I'm sorry they blamed you'..." He'd never thought he'd find himself _apologizing_ for the results of his Returner work, but it seemed like the right thing to say. And from a karmic point of view, it was all the more fitting that he had saved her life. 

She heaved a sigh. "It's... all right. You didn't know, you were only doing what you thought was right, just as I had been with that message... I know General Leo went to Doma as well, and he's far more level-headed than Kefka. I can only hope Leo manages to keep him in line enough to prevent him from using the poison regardless of who wins." 

"Yeah. The Domans will probably at least give the Empire a run for its money so long as poison isn't involved. I've met a few of their warriors during my travels, and they're pretty impressive when it comes to swordplay."

"I heard that as well from my own sources." 

Celes was curious as to why Locke had joined the Returners, but he had gone back to eating, so she decided to do the same. One would think he would have said something back when he first mentioned his role in things, but he hadn't. Then again, perhaps the reason was something personal that he didn't feel like sharing with someone he'd just begun to know. Revenge, perhaps? But for what? Her time in the military had taught her to be patient during interrogations - not that this was one - so she decided to wait until he was ready to tell her. 

Once mealtime was over, Locke put the empty package aside and started untying his bedroll. "We'd better get some sleep. It'll be easier to cross the desert in the morning before it gets too hot."

She started to nod, then remembered something and frowned. "There's just one problem, though: all of my travel gear is back in South Figaro. It's probably been divided among the remaining soldiers by now, so what do you propose I do for sleeping arrangements, hmm?"

"Well it's not like I knew ahead of time that I'd be taking someone else along, but-" Startled, he cut himself off when she slid her runic blade out of its sheath a few inches threateningly, then shook his head once he realized what she was thinking. Her choosing to sit apart from him made a little more sense now. "I take it you've gotten some... *ahem* propositions from your now-former men in the past?"

She nodded with a grimace. "Mostly before I was promoted to general, but yes. I had to threaten a few of them with castration before they would leave me alone." He didn't seem like the type, but she wasn't taking any chances when she barely knew him, let alone the extent of his apparent personal code of chivalry. 

He winced at that, though he supposed it made sense since women weren't exactly common in the Empire's army. "Yeesh... Well you don't have to worry about that with me, Celes. My name isn't Edgar 'Lecher King' Figaro." Several miles from their position, the king in question sneezed. "I have more respect for women than that." Not to mention he wasn't in the market for a new girlfriend at the moment. 

She relaxed somewhat, and let her sword slide back down. "So you're a gentleman as well as a thief, hmm?"

Locke flinched, but suppressed the urge to shout his next words by reminding himself that she didn't know better. "A gentleman and a _treasure hunter_. There's a huge difference." 

Celes raised an eyebrow at that, mentally noting that it apparently was a sore point for him. "Well then, Mr. _Treasure Hunter_ , how do you plan on solving our little problem?"

He considered that momentarily before deciding to push his bedding in her direction. "Here, you can borrow my bedroll until we get to Narshe." Once they were there, they could get her her own, if only after the Empire had been dealt with. "I've got a spare blanket in my pack for when it gets too cold and I'm not near a town, I'll use that." He pulled it out of his rucksack and spread it out close by, intending to use the bag as a makeshift pillow. 

She was surprised at his generosity. "And you're okay with sleeping on the cold cave floor like that?"

"I've had worse, I'll manage," he reassured her as he removed his daggers from his belt and put them within easy reach but away from the fire. 

"All right." She pulled the bedroll toward her side of the fire, but waited for him to settle down under the blanket before crawling into the bedroll, just to be sure. "Good night, Locke." 

"Good night, Celes." 

He was asleep within a few minutes, after which Celes allowed herself to do the same. In the back of her mind, she wondered what she was really getting into.

It would take her almost two years to find an answer.


End file.
